Cable cassette apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus includes a cassette. The cassette includes a carriage. The carriage is retained internally to the cassette. The apparatus further includes a booklet assembly. The booklet assembly includes a cable connector. The cable connector is affixed internally to the booklet assembly. The cassette is configured for insertion into the booklet assembly. The apparatus further includes a cable assembly. The cable assembly is configured for insertion into the cable connector. The carriage is configured for retaining the cable assembly. In an aspect, a method of using the apparatus includes preloading the cable assembly into the carriage, inserting the cassette into the booklet assembly, and configuring the carriage such that the cable assembly is inserted into the cable connector and retained in an inserted position by the carriage.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of tools andequipment for use with computer cabinets, and more particularly toapparatus for managing cables that connect to interface cards incomputer cabinets.

Computer servers and other systems are often installed in cabinets,racks, or other support structures. Such computer systems often requirevarious cables to be connected to ports mounted on or in the computerchassis within the cabinet or other rack. Cable connectors may beincorporated into printed circuit board devices (i.e., “cards”) thatinterface with larger computer systems. As signal transmission rates forcabling in server environments grow and new performance limitations arereached, Engineers and designers continue to face challenges in managingand extending cable connections.

SUMMARY

An apparatus includes a cassette. The cassette includes a carriage. Thecarriage is retained internally to the cassette. The apparatus furtherincludes a booklet assembly. The booklet assembly includes a cableconnector. The cable connector is affixed internally to the bookletassembly. The cassette is configured for insertion into the bookletassembly. The apparatus further includes a cable assembly. The cableassembly is configured for insertion into the cable connector. Thecarriage is configured for retaining the cable assembly.

In an aspect, the cassette is inserted into and retained within thebooklet assembly, and said cable assembly is inserted into the cableconnector and retained in an inserted position by the carriage. In anaspect, the booklet assembly conforms to a form factor, the bookletassembly includes a card, and the card is of reduced length relative tothe form factor. The cassette 220 may be understood as filling a lengthdifference between the card 204 and the form factor, which correspondsto the size of the booklet assembly 200. In an aspect, the cableassembly is a preexisting cable assembly.

In an aspect, a method of using the apparatus includes preloading thecable assembly into the carriage, inserting the cassette into thebooklet assembly, and configuring the carriage such that the cableassembly is inserted into the cable connector and retained in aninserted position by the carriage. In an aspect of the method of usingthe apparatus, the booklet assembly is configured for insertion into adevice cabinet, the device cabinet houses a computer system, the bookletassembly further includes a backplane connector, the backplane connectoris configured to connected to a backplane socket, the backplane socketis in electronic communication with the computer system, and the methodfurther includes inserting the booklet assembly into the device cabinetsuch that the backplane connector is inserted into the backplane socket.

In an aspect, an apparatus includes a cassette. The cassette includes acassette base. The cassette base includes a cassette base top surface, acassette base front edge, a cassette base rear edge, a cassette baseright edge, and a cassette base left edge. The cassette further includesa cassette front panel, a cassette rear panel, a cassette right panel,and a cassette left panel. The cassette front panel is affixed to thecassette base front edge, orthogonal to the cassette base top surface.The cassette rear panel is affixed to the cassette base rear edge,orthogonal to the cassette base top surface. The cassette right panel isaffixed to the cassette base right edge, orthogonal to the cassette basetop surface. The cassette left panel is affixed to the cassette baseleft edge, orthogonal to the cassette base top surface. The cassettefront panel includes a front panel gap cut therefrom. The cassettefurther includes a carriage. The carriage includes a carriage panel. Thecarriage panel includes a carriage panel top face and a carriage panelbottom face. The carriage further includes at least one hook structureaffixed to the carriage panel top face. The carriage is retained to thecassette base such that the cassette base top surface opposes thecarriage panel bottom surface. The front panel gap and the carriage arealigned along an insertion dimension.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a full length card in the context ofschematically represented cabinet and computer system environment, inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cable assembly, cassette, and reduced formfactor card, in accordance with at least one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3A is an elevated right-front perspective view of a cable assemblyand cassette, in accordance with at least one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3B is an elevated right-front perspective view of a cable assemblyand cassette with a light pipe, in accordance with at least oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4A is an elevated right-rear perspective view of a cassette, inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4B is an elevated right-rear perspective view of a cassette withcarriage in expanded position, in accordance with at least oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4C is a lowered, right-rear perspective view of a carriage, inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a cable assembly, cassette with jack screwcarriage retainer, and reduced form factor card, in accordance with atleast one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6A is an elevated rear perspective view of a cable assembly andcassette with jack screw carriage retainer, in accordance with at leastone embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6B is a close-up, elevated rear-right perspective view of a jackscrew, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a cable assembly, cassette with fixed carriage,and reduced form factor card, in accordance with at least one embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 8 is an elevated right-rear perspective view of a cassette withfixed carriage, in accordance with at least one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the invention in more detail, FIG. 1 is a plan view ofa booklet assembly, generally designated 100, which is configured forinsertion into a device cabinet 170. The device cabinet 170 isschematically represented by a pair of parallel lines. The devicecabinet 170 may include rails, guides, slides, slots or other mountingstructures suitable for receiving the booklet assembly 100. In anembodiment, the device cabinet 170 is the back of a rack mounted serverinstallation, as may be found in a computer data center. In anembodiment, the booklet assembly 100 includes hardware appropriate formounting a card 104 into the particular device cabinet 170. The card 104may be understood as a Printed Wiring Board (PWB) or, equivalently, aPrinted Circuit Board (PCB) upon which various electronic components maybe mounted for electronic interface with a computer system 174(schematically represented as a box). The device cabinet 170 houses thecomputer system 174. Example computer hardware systems where embodimentsof the present invention may be applied include IBM® z System® serversand cabinets.

In an embodiment, the booklet assembly 100 further includes a backplaneconnector 108. The backplane connector 108 may be incorporated into thecard 104, and may provide electronic communication to various componentsmounted to the card 104. In an embodiment, the backplane connector 108is configured to connect to a backplane socket 172, and the backplanesocket 172 is in electronic communication with the computer system 174.The backplane connector 108 and the backplane socket 172 may be of thetype commonly found as expansion board connectors in commerciallyavailable computer systems. In alternative embodiments, the backplaneconnector 108 may be incorporated into a side of the booklet assembly100, ninety degrees offset from its depicted position, as is the case invarious desktop computer systems, and the structures disclosed elsewheremay be modified accordingly.

Referring still to FIG. 1, the card 104 may include a cable connector106, which may connect to one or more types of cable connectors, wherebycommunication between the computer system 174 and other computer systemsor devices is enabled. The card 104 may conform to a large form factorconsistent with the size of the booklet 100. The inventors have observedand/or recognized that, where the primary function of the card 104 is tofacilitate communication via the cable connector 106 by the computersystem 174, due to recent reductions in the size and cost of integratedcircuit chips, as well as recent increased needs to improve signalintegrity performance and/or reduce the cost of manufacture, the card104 may be substantially reduced in length relative to a given formfactor to which the booklet 100 conforms. For example, FIG. 2 depicts acard 204 that is of reduced length relative to the full length card 104.The length of the card 104 necessitates the use of a retimer chip 102 tocoordinate signals across the PWB of the card 104. By reducing thelength of the card 104, the retimer chip 102 may no longer be necessary,and the resulting short card (e.g., the card 204) may be less fragilethan the full length card 104, thereby requiring less structural supportfrom the booklet 100.

The resulting short card 204 may also be less costly to produce anddistribute, consume less power, require fewer capacitors (e.g.,filtering, blocking, and/or decoupling capacitors), and have simplethermal management than the full length card 104. However, the inventorshave observed and/or recognized that the short card 204 necessitatesbringing the cable connector 106 inside the booklet 100, which puts thecable at risk of damage by contacting potentially sharp internalstructures of the booklet 100 and/or device cabinet 170. This may alsoput the cable at risk of accidental disconnection, if internalcomponents place unexpected tension on the cable. Similarly, moving thecable connector 106 inside the booklet 100 creates a risk of alteringairflow through the device cabinet 170 in unexpected ways. The inventorshave observed and/or recognized that a system can incorporate thebenefits of a short card without the drawbacks of a cable connector deepinside the booklet by providing a cassette into which a preexistingcable assembly may be preloaded and/or pre-retained. It should be noted,however, that no particular aspect of the aforementioned benefits ofshort cards, drawbacks of long cards, drawbacks of internally mountedcable connectors, or benefits of cassettes need necessarily be presentin any particular embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 2-4C collectively depict various views and components for one ormore embodiments of the present invention. FIGS. 2 presents a plan viewof a cable assembly, cassette, and reduced form factor card, inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the invention. In thedepicted embodiment, the card 204 is mounted internally to the bookletassembly 200. Mounting may be accomplished with any appropriatefastener, such as the depicted screws 205; alternatives include nails,adhesives, bolts, and rivets. A backplane connector 208 is integratedinto the card 204, and a cable connector 206 is mounted thereon, both inelectronic communication with the card 204, its components, and anycomputer system that may be connected via the backplane connector 208.The cable connector 206 may be understood as being affixed internally tothe booklet assembly 200, regardless of whether, in alternativeembodiments, a card 204 is present or not. The apparatus of the depictedembodiment includes a cassette 220. The cassette 220 is shown isolatedfrom the booklet assembly 200 at FIG. 3A.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, the cassette220 retains a cable assembly 230. The cable assembly 230 includes acable 232, which connects electrically, optically, or otherwise to acable head assembly 234, which includes a connector jack 236. The cableassembly 230 is configured for insertion into the cable connector 206via the connector jack 236. The cable assembly 230, as depicted, is aPCIe cable assembly. In alternative embodiments, the present inventionmay be applied to other standard or non-standard cable types that may beusefully connected to the card 204, such as Ethernet, Universal SerialBus (USB), etc. Various embodiments may include custom cable typesand/or embodiment-specific cable types. Embodiments that use apreexisting cable assembly 230, specifically a cable that ismanufactured and commercially available off-the-shelf and conforming toone or more defined standards, may benefit in that such embodimentsrequire only the manufacture of the cassette 220, with other componentsalready available (though this advantage is not a necessarily arequirement for any particular embodiment).

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, the cassette220 includes a carriage 250, which includes at least one hook structure,in a depicted embodiment including a rear right hook structure 252R, arear left hook structure 252L, a front right hook structure 254R, and afront left hook structure 254L. The carriage may be made of variousrigid or semi-rigid metal or plastic materials. The carriage 250 isretained internally to the cassette 220. As described herein, “retained”includes not only completely fixed configurations, but also includesconfigurations where movement in various dimensions is permitted,subject to mechanical restriction. The carriage may 250 may beunderstood as including a carriage panel with a carriage panel top face251 to which the hook structures 252R, 252L, 254R, and 252L may beunderstood as affixed to or monolithically incorporated into thecarriage panel top face 251. The four hook structures 252R, 252L, 254R,and 252L are shaped to conform to the cable head assembly 234 such thatthe cable head assembly 234 is retained to the carriage 250, asdepicted. Thus, the carriage 250 may be understood as being configuredfor retaining the cable assembly 230. In alternative embodiments,different numbers and shapes of retaining structures may be incorporatedinto and/or affixed to the carriage 250, and such structures mayaccommodate the same shaped cable assembly 230 differently or mayaccommodate a differently shaped cable assembly 230, for example a cableassembly conforming to a different cabling standard.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, the cassette220 includes a cassette base 221. The cassette base 221 may be a flat(or about flat, permissive of holes, raised regions depressed regions,etc.) rectangular (or about rectangular, permissive of indentations,outcroppings, fabrication errors, etc.) structure of rigid or semi-rigidmaterial, such as sheet metal. The cassette base 221 includes a cassettebase top surface 221A (in the drawings, the cassette base 221 refers tothe three dimensional panel while the cassette base top surface 221Arefers to its two dimensional top surface), a cassette base front edge221F, a cassette base right edge 221R, a cassette base rear edge 221B,and a cassette base left edge 221L. Alternative shapes of the cassettebase 221 and the cassette 220 as a whole are contemplated, for examplewhere the device cabinet 170 accepts an alternatively shaped booklet100.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, affixed to orincorporated monolithically into the cassette base 221, perpendicularlyand upward thereto along the cassette base front edge 221F is a cassettefront panel 222, which incorporates a full-height or partial heightfront panel gap 222A. The front panel gap 22A accommodates the connectorjack 236. More, fewer, or differently shaped gaps may be incorporatedinto the cassette front panel 222, as required to accommodatedifferently shaped jacks or other components. Affixed to or incorporatedmonolithically into the cassette base 221, perpendicularly and upwardthereto along the cassette base rear edge 221B is a cassette rear panel226, which incorporates a full or partial height cassette rear panelcentral gap 226A. The cassette rear panel central gap 226A accommodatesthe cable 232. The edges of the cassette rear panel central gap 226A maybe folded over, as shown, or, alternatively, the edges may be smoothed,sanded, rounded, or otherwise rendered non sharp, which reduces the riskof shearing the cable 232. More, fewer, or differently shaped gaps maybe incorporated into the cassette rear panel 226, as required toaccommodate differently shaped cables or other components. As shown, acassette rear panel left gap 263 and cassette rear panel right gap 264may also be cut into the cassette rear panel 262, as described infurther detail below.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, affixed to orincorporated monolithically into the cassette base 221, perpendicularlyand upward thereto along the cassette base right edge 221R is a cassetteright panel 225, and affixed to or incorporated monolithically into thecassette base 221, perpendicularly and upward thereto along the cassettebase left edge 221L is a cassette left panel 224. The cassette rightpanel 225 may have cut therefrom a cassette right panel gap 225A, andthe cassette left panel 224 may have cut therefrom a cassette left panelgap 224A. More, fewer, or differently shaped gaps cut from the cassetteleft panel 224 and cassette right panel 225 are also contemplated.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, FIG. 4Aintroduces an insertion dimension 400. The front panel gap 222A and thecarriage 250 are aligned along the insertion dimension 400. The carriage250 may be retained to the cassette base 221 such that the cassette basetop surface 221A opposes the carriage panel bottom surface 451, and thatthe carriage 250 is translationally movable along the insertiondimension 400, relative to the cassette 220, and the cable assembly 230inserts into the cable connector 206 along the insertion dimension 400.Thus, the cable assembly 230, retained to the carriage 250, may beadjusted positionally relative to the cassette 220 to obtain and retainoptimal mating between the connector jack 236 and the cable connector206. The carriage 250 may be urged along the insertion dimension 400thus pressing the connector jack 236 into the cable connector. In adepicted embodiment, one possible urging means for urging the connectorjack 236 into the cable connector 206 includes a left lever and a rightlever. The left lever includes a left lever arm region 258L and a leftlever fulcrum region 259L. The right lever includes a right lever armregion 258R and a right lever fulcrum region 259R. Each of the twolevers may be configured to urge the carriage 250 forward along theinsertion dimension by spring action. Thus, the cassette 220 may beunderstood to include at least one spring-loaded member (one of thelevers, including the left and right lever arm regions 258L and 258R)affixed internally thereto, and the at least one spring-loaded membermay be understood as being configured to urge the carriage 250 along theinsertion dimension such that the cable assembly is urged into aninserted position.

Accordingly, the levers may be made of an intrinsically deformablematerial, such as various metal or plastic materials that have springproperties. The levers may be constructed as a single piece with variousother elements described below, and the single piece may be retained tothe cassette 220 by one or more snap fasteners 402, which may retain thelever and associated components to the cassette 220. Alternativefasteners include screws, nails, bolts, adhesives, hook-and-loop fabric,etc.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, FIG. 4B depictshow translational movability of the carriage 250 along the insertiondimension 400 may be achieved incorporating into the cassette base 221 aslot 410. The slot 410 includes a first slot region 412 and a secondslot region 411. The first slot region 412 is wider than the second slotregion 411, as depicted. FIG. 4C depicts the carriage panel bottom face451. The carriage 250 further includes a tongue 420 affixed to orincorporated monolithically thereto, for example via the carriage panelbottom face 451. The tongue 420 includes a narrow region 421 and anenlarged region 422. The narrow region 421 is affixed between theenlarged region 422 and the carriage panel bottom face 451, such thatthe tongue 420 has a T-shaped profile, as shown. The enlarged region 422is of lesser width than the second slot region 411 and greater widththan the first slot region 412. The narrow region 421 is of lesser widththan the second slot region 411. Thus, in a depicted embodiment, thetongue 420 is insertable into the first slot region 412 and slidableinto the second slot region 411 such that, when the tongue 420 isdisposed within the second slot region 411, the carriage 250 is retainedto the cassette base 221 slidably, along the insertion dimension 400.Thus, the tongue 420 may be understood as configured for insertion intoand retention by the slot 410 such that the tongue is restricted tomotion along the insertion dimension 400.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, the cassette220 is configured for insertion into the booklet assembly 200. In someconfigurations of a depicted embodiment, the cassette 220 is insertedinto and retained within the booklet assembly 200, and the cableassembly 230 is inserted into the cable connector 206 and retained in aninserted position by the carriage 250. The inserted position may beunderstood to include a position, such as that depicted in FIG. 2, wherethe connector jack 236 is mated to the cable connector 206 such thatelectronic communication between the cable assembly 230 and the card 204is enabled.

Enabling insertion and retention of the cassette 220 into the bookletassembly 200, the cassette 220 includes a plurality of tabs. Theplurality of tabs is configured for releasably interlocking with thebooklet assembly 200. More specifically, in an embodiment depicted inFIGS. 2-4C, the cassette 220 includes a left tab and a right tab. Theleft tab includes a left tab handle region 262L, a left tab bend region264L, and a left tab fulcrum region 266L. The right tab includes a righttab handle region 262R, a right tab bend region 264R, and a right tabfulcrum region 266R. In a depicted embodiment, each tab is a singlepiece together with the corresponding lever, retained by the fasteners402. Specifically, the left tab fulcrum region 266L and right tabfulcrum region 266R may be understood as affixed internally to thecassette 220, as depicted. In alternative embodiments, the levers andtabs may be distinct structures.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIG. 2-4C, the left tabbend region 264L may extend through the cassette left panel gap 224A,and the right tab bend region 264R may extend through the cassette rightpanel gap 225A. The left tab handle region 262L extends through thecassette rear panel left gap 263L, and the right tab handle region 262Rextends through the cassette rear panel right gap 263R. The left tab isurged toward the cassette left panel 224 by spring action of the lefttab fulcrum region 266L, and the right tab is urged toward the cassetteright panel 225 by spring action of the right tab fulcrum region 266R.Thus, the tabs may be understood to be spring-loaded. The left tab isurgable away from the cassette left panel 224 by actuation of the lefttab handle region 262L (for example, manual pushing rightward by a humanuser of the left tab handle region 262L). The right tab is urgable awayfrom the cassette right panel 225 by actuation of the right tab handleregion 262R (for example, manual pushing leftward by a human user of theright tab handle region 262R). Thus, each of the plurality of tabs maybe understood as actuated by a lever. Resultingly, the left tab bendregion 264L and right tab bend region 264R may be configured to engagewith corresponding structures interior to the booklet assembly 200 suchthat, if inserted into the booklet assembly 200, the cassette 220 isretained by the left tab bend region 264L and right tab bend region 264Rsnapping into place. Similarly, the cassette 220 is releasable from thebooklet assembly 200 by a user actuating both the left tab handle region262L and right tab handle region 262R, whereby the left tab bend region264L and right tab bend region 264R disengage from the booklet assembly200, releasing the cassette 220 therefrom. Thus, via the left and righttabs, the cassette 220 may be understood as configured for insertioninto the booklet assembly 200.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIG. 2-4C, FIG. 3B presentsan optional light pipe 370 affixed internally to the cassette 220. Alight source 207 (shown in FIG. 2) may be affixed to the cable connector206. The light source 207 may be a status indicator, such as LightEmitting Diode (LED) that is configured to blink or otherwise presentstatus information pertaining to the card 204. The light source 207 maynot, on its own, be visible from outside the device cabinet 170.Addressing this in a depicted embodiment, the light pipe 370 includes afirst end 207A located at a light collection position whereat, if thecassette 220 is inserted into the booklet assembly 200, light emitted bythe light source 207 is collected by the light pipe. That is, the firstend 370A may be located proximate to the light source 207. The lightpipe 370 further includes a second end 370B located at a light emissionposition whereat light emitted from the light pipe 370 unobstructedlypropagates out of the cassette 220. That is, the second end 370B islocated at the back of the cassette and is visible from outside of thedevice cabinet 170. The light pipe 370 may be made of acrylic, glass, orother transparent but internally reflective material. The light pipe 370may be affixed to the interior of the cassette 220 by adhesives, snapcomponents, or other fasteners, and may be arranged on a path throughthe cassette 220 that avoids various other components. For example, thelight pipe 370 may pass under a notch 358A in a lever arm region 358(corresponding to the right lever arm region 258R and left lever armregion 258L).

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2-4C, a method ofusing the apparatus of the invention includes preloading the cableassembly 230 into the carriage 250. To achieve this, the cable headassembly 234 may be pressed into carriage 250 such that the hookstructures 252L, 252R, 254L, and 254R snap around the cable headassembly 234. The method further includes inserting the cassette 220into the booklet assembly 200. For example, the cassette 220 may bepressed into the booklet assembly 200 until the left tab bend region264L and right tab bend region 264R snap into place. The method furtherincludes configuring the carriage 250 such that the cable assembly 230is inserted into the cable connector 206 and retained in the insertedposition by the carriage 250, for example by adjusting the position ofthe carriage 250 along the insertion dimension 400. The method mayfurther include inserting the booklet assembly 200 into the devicecabinet 170 such that the backplane connector 208 is inserted into thebackplane socket 172.

Referring now to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 5-6B, the bookletassembly 500 includes a card 504 with a cable connector 506 andbackplane connector 508, similarly to the previously describedembodiments. The cable assembly 530, cable 532, cable head assembly 534,and connector jack 536 likewise function similarly to the previouslydescribed embodiments. The cassette 520, cassette base 521, carriage550, carriage panel top face 551, hooks 552L, 552R, 554L, and 554R, tabbend regions 564L and 564R, and tab handle regions 562L, and 562Rlikewise function similarly to previously described embodiments.

In an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 5-6B, the cassette 520 includes ajack screw 590. The jack screw 590 rotates within a jack screw retainer591 resulting in adjustable translational motion along the insertiondimension 400. The jack screw retainer 591 is affixed to or incorporatedinto the cassette base 521. By the jack screw retainer 591, the jackscrew 590 may be understood to be mounted internally to the cassette 520such that the jack screw 590 is rotatable about and translatable alongthe insertion dimension 400. The jack screw 590 may engage with areceiving structure 550A affixed to or incorporated into the carriage550. By rotating the jack screw, users may adjust the degree to whichthe carriage 550 is urged along the insertion dimension 400. Thus, thejack screw 590 may be understood to be configured to urge the carriagealong the insertion dimension 400 such that the cable assembly is urgedinto an inserted position. Equivalently, the jack screw 590, togetherwith the jack screw retainer 591 and receiving structure 550A may beunderstood to be an urging means for urging the connector jack 536 intothe cable connector 506.

Referring still to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 5-6B, the cassetterear panel center gap 526A in the cassette rear panel 526 may bereduced, as shown, leaving a panel through which the cable 532 may passvia one or more holes. An additional central hole 592 may permit a userto insert a screwdriver to access the jack screw 590.

Referring now to an embodiment depicted in FIGS. 7-8, the bookletassembly 700 includes a card 704 with a cable connector 706 andbackplane connector 708, similarly to the previously describedembodiments. The cable assembly 730, cable 732, cable head assembly 734,and connector jack 736 likewise function similarly to the previouslydescribed embodiments. The cassette 720, cassette base 721, carriage750, and hooks 752L, 752R, 754L likewise function similarly topreviously described embodiments.

In an embodiment depicted in FIG. 6-8, the carriage 750 is not slidablerelative to the cassette 720, but rather is affixed to the cassette base721 via fasteners 751, which may include screws, nails, bolts, rivets,snapping structures, adhesives, hook-and-loop fabric, etc. Thus, thecarriage 752 is fixedly positioned within the cassette 720. In addition,an embodiment of FIG. 7-8 may replace the tabs with retaining hooks 744Rand 744L, each including a retaining hook tip 745R and 745L, which passthrough the right and left panel gaps 725A and 724A to engage withcorresponding structures on the interior of the booklet assembly 700. Inaddition, the retaining hooks exert tension between the cassette 720 anda booklet back panel 746, thus urging the entire cassette 720 forwardalong the insertion dimension 400 such that the connector jack 736 isurged into the cable connector 706. Thus the retaining hooks 744L and744R may be understood to be an urging means for urging the connectorjack 736 into the cable connector 706.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a cassette; saidcassette comprising a carriage, said carriage being retained internallyto said cassette; a booklet assembly; said booklet assembly comprising acable connector, said cable connector being affixed internally to saidbooklet assembly; said cassette being configured for insertion into saidbooklet assembly; a cable assembly; said cable assembly being configuredfor insertion into said cable connector; and said carriage beingconfigured for retaining said cable assembly; and wherein: said cableconnector comprises a light source affixed thereto; said cassettefurther comprises a light pipe affixed internally thereto; said lightpipe is configured such that light emitted from said light pipeunobstructedly propagates out of said cassette.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein: said light pipe comprises a first end located at alight collection position whereat, if said cassette is inserted intosaid booklet assembly, light emitted by said light source is collectedby said light pipe; and said light pipe further comprises a second endlocated at a light emission position whereat light emitted from saidlight pipe unobstructedly propagates out of said cassette.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein: said cassette is inserted into andretained within said booklet assembly; and said cable assembly isinserted into said cable connector and retained in an inserted positionby said carriage.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cableassembly is a preexisting cable assembly.